It is generally accepted that the bacterial diseases of plants are difficult to control. Usually a combination of methods, such as the use of chemicals, antibiotics, sanitation practices, and the use of clean seed stock, are used in combination to control bacterial diseases of plants.
Plant pathogenic bacteria include those from the following genera: Agrobacterium, Corynebacterium, Erwinia, Pseudomonas, Xanthomonas, and Streptomyces.
Example diseases caused by these bacteria include wild fire of tobacco, caused by P. tabaci; canker of stone fruit and pome fruit trees as well as citrus blast, pear blast, bean leaf spot and lilac blight, all caused by P. syringae; common blight of beans, caused by X. phaseoli; crown gall of (woody) plants, such as stone fruits, pome fruits and grape, caused by A. tumafaciens; bean wilt, caused by C. flaccumfaciens; wilting and cankering of tomato plants, caused by C. michiganense; soft rot of fleshy fruits, caused by E. carotovora; and fire blight of pear and apple trees, caused by E. amylovora.
The use of bacteria to control pathogenic bacteria has been disclosed. For example, W. O. Reil et al. in California Agriculture, April 1974, pages 4-6 disclosed the use of an antagonistic bacteria mixture to control E. amylovora. Reil et al. found that although greater control was achieved using a chemical bactericide, the bacteria control method gave some positive control.
S. D. Beer et al. in Phytopathology 70:459 (1980) disclosed the use of E. herbicola bacteria to control E. amylovora in apple trees.
S. V. Thompson et al. obtained approximately equal control in the field of pear tree fire blight bacteria (E. amylovora) using bacteria vs. using chemical bactericides, Phytopathology, December 1976, Vol. 66, page 1457. Thompson et al. used a mixture of three species of Pseudomonas and one Erwinia bacteria species to control E. amylovora pathogenic bacteria. The Erwinia species used by Thompson et al. for their field study produced, in preliminary laboratory studies, an inhibition zone against E. amylovora but not against P. syringae nor did it produce inhibition against E. carotovora var. atroseptica nor against E. carotovora var. carotovora.